Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov opened the third annual M-Tel Masters chess tournament on May 9.

Purvanov said that he was happy to congratulate the competition participants on Europe Day together with the start of M-Tel Masters.

The previous two competitions created real chess masterpieces. The 2007 M-Tel masters will be as challenging as the previous one because of the strong presence at the tournament, Purvanov said.

The tournament turned into one of the most prominent international sport events, Purvanov said.

Bulgarian world champion in chess Vesselin Topalov played against Alex Brunetti while blindfolded in a demonstration match before the start of the competition.

The chief referee of M-Tel Masters will be Joaquin Espejo from Spain.